About a decade ago my hubby and I purchased our kitchen table. It is a rectangle table that expands to a square to seat 8. 99% of the time we have it as a rectangle with 6 chairs around it. Instead of purchasing two more chairs to accommodate 8 we bought a two person bench type chair. (See the bench to the left of that picture below). Big mistake.

First of all it is heavy and you have to find someplace to store it while not in use. It has been in our playroom for years. Now to take this picture I had to purge underneath the bench to get all sorts of Beyblades, Barbies and other toy paraphernalia out from under it. And it just looks so out of place in our playroom.

Secondly, it is kinda awkward. If we have people over I notice it is the last seat to be taken because it is kinda like sharing a chair – so only spouses will dare sit on it together. Then if someone needs to get up both have to get up or shift in order to get someone out. We usually try and cram a few kids on the bench instead. So I decided to make a bench for that area.

I received The Handbuilt Home from Ana White last year and loved looking through it since I am a big Ana fan and also loved seeing all the other participating bloggers’ projects. I saw the Farmhouse Bench on page 76 and knew it would be perfect to use as seating for our kitchen table and provide extra storage with the bottom shelf that would blend in seamlessly in our playroom. So I set out to tweak the plans to accommodate our table width. It was a super easy build – especially with the Kreg Jig. The hardest part was using the jigsaw to cut out the curvy parts.

I purchased pine wood at Lowes for this project as that is the cheapest route to go. After it was built I sanded the whole thing smooth to cut down on the sharp edges and make everything ready for stain. I also distressed it a little by using a hammer and some nails to make it look older and worn. I used the same colored stain (Minwax Charcoal Gray) as I did from the tray with drawer I made. Again it turned out looking more blue than gray.

I sanded much of it down again so the natural wood was showing through. Then mixed chalk paint and an Minwax Ebony stain and painted that on and rubbed and wiped it off with a paper towel. That gave it more of a gray color.

I then used some CeCe Caldwell aging glaze over that to give it a little brown. Then I put a couple of coats of clear wax over the top to seal it.

The results are stunning. It reminds me of a Restoration Hardware finish. I love it with the industrial metal bins.

And now no more awkward “two-seated-but-feels-like-one-seat” bench.

And it still looks great in the playroom and takes up less space.

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